Render group> Motion Blur

Motion Blur gives particles that move really fast a smooth look, like a real world camera does. Let's see how that works...

Technical note about render time

Something to note is that Motion Blur produces an awful lot of particles, which can make your project quite memory intense. This is because Motion Blur in Trapcode Particular is somewhat different from Motion Blur in other software.

Most applications and plugins blend some frames that are time offset to produce a blurred frame. In Particular, additional particles are inserted into the particle list before rendering. This method means that depth cueing in the blurred frame is correct. It also means that per-particle transfer modes are applied for each blur level, and that produces a lot of extra particles.

Left to right, Motion Blur turned off and on.

Motion Blur

You can tell Motion Blur to be Off, On or to use Comp Settings. The default value is Comp Settings.

Selecting Off turns Motion Blur off. Selecting On or Comp Settings turns Motion Blur on.

When the Comp Settings option is selected, Particular's Shutter Angle and Shutter Phase controls are greyed out. This is because the Shutter Angle and Phase values from the After Effects composition are used. These values are located in After Effects' Composition> Composition Settings> Advanced menu. To activate Motion Blur with Comp Settings, the comp Motion Blur switch AND the layer Motion Blur switch must be turned on.

At left, the Motion Blur menu. At right, the After Effects switches that tie into the Comp Settings option.

Shutter Angle

Active for the Motion Blur> On option. Shutter Angle sets how long the virtual camera shutter stays open when a picture is taken. This controls the 'streak-length' or 'blur-length' of particles. High values set a longer particle streak. Low values set a short streak.

Shutter Phase

Active for the Motion Blur> On option. Shutter Phase offsets the point in time when the virtual camera shutter opens.

Type

There are two types of Motion Blur:

- Linear. This method assumes that particles move in a straight line during the time the shutter is open. Generally faster than Subframe, but sometime gives an artificial look.
- Subframe Sample. This method samples the particle's position and rotation at a number of points during the time the shutter is open. Useful if particle motion is curvy, like when using Turbulence or Spin.

Levels

Active when Type> Subframe Sample is selected. The number of position/rotation points to sample when using Subframe Sample. Higher values mean more samples.

Linear Accuracy

Active when Type> Linear is selected. Higher values cause the motion blur algorithm to calculate with greater accuracy.

Opacity Boost

When Motion Blur is active, the particle is 'smeared' out. This smearing can make the partice lose its strength and become less opaque. Opacity Boost can counteract that loss. Higher values mean there is more opacity added to the particles . Opacity Boost is useful when creating sparks, or any particle that acts as a light-emitter.

Disregard

Sometimes not everything in the composition should be motion blurred. With Disregard, some parts of the particle simulation can be ignored when Motion Blur is computed.

The four Disregard settings are:

- Nothing - Nothing in the simulation is disregarded.
- Physics Time Factor (PTF). Disregards Physics Time Factor. When this mode is selected, the Motion Blur from the explosion is unaffected by the standstill in time. Useful for effects such as freezing time in an explosion.
- Camera Motion. In this mode, the camera motion does not contribute to Motion Blur. Perhaps the most useful case is when Shutter Angle is very high and particles are very long. In this situation, if the camera is moved, that motion will cause a lot of blur unless Disregard is set to Camera Motion.
- Camera Motion & PTF. Neither camera motion or PTF contribute to Motion Blur.